Joaquim Almeda Ferrer

JOAQUIM ALMEDA FERRER (Cassà de la Seva, Girona, 1914–?)
Christ on the Cross.
Terracotta with a gold patina.
Stamp on the reverse.
Measurements: 36 x 29 x 6 cm.

The work reinterprets the medieval typology of the Christus triumphans, or Christ in Majesty, drawing closer to Romanesque models than to the Baroque iconography of the suffering Crucified Christ. The figure is depicted in full face, rigid and hieratic, with his arms outstretched horizontally and his body covered by a long tunic with vertical folds—a feature reminiscent of Catalan and Pyrenean Romanesque crucifixes, in which Christ is not shown overcome by pain but rather as an image of spiritual authority.

The ceramic artist Joaquim Almeda exhibited at venues in Barcelona such as Galerías Layetanas, Galerías Pallarès, Galerías Franquesa, Sala Argos, and Sala Pictórica, as well as in Girona and other Catalan cities. In Girona, he directed the “Àmfora” ceramics and art workshops.